Angels Trade for White Sox’ Lucas Giolito Hours After Taking Ohtani Off the Market

Los Angeles was expected to be buying, and it made its first big move ahead of the deadline.

The Angels and White Sox reportedly agreed to a trade which will send Lucas Giolito to Anaheim, Chicago confirmed Thursday night.

Just hours after SI’s Tom Verducci reported that Shohei Ohtani had been taken off the trade market, the Angels went out and fortified their pitching staff with the acquisition of the former All-Star.

The full trade will see Giolito and Reynaldo López dealt to Anaheim in exchange for a pair of top prospects: catcher Edgar Quero and left-handed pitcher Ky Bush. 

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Quero is ranked as the No. 65 prospect in MLB, and the pair were rated as the’ No. 2 and No. 3 prospects in the Angels’ farm system, per MLB Pipeline.

Giolito will join an Angels pitching staff which currently ranks 20th in MLB with a 4.44 ERA. 

After struggling in 2022, the righthander has been solid this season, registering a 3.79 ERA across 21 starts. Giolito has struck out 131 batters in 121.0 innings while walking 42. 

López, who has started 97 games in his career, has worked exclusively out of the bullpen this year, pitching to the tune of a 4.29 ERA over 42 innings.

Both Giolito and López are set to hit free agency after this season, so they’ll be rentals for the Angels as they look to fortify the roster for a postseason push.